Analyst: 3D printing industry set for incredible growth

Bloomberg’s Betty Liu recently noted that the rapidly evolving 3D printing industry is projected to be worth a staggering $3 billion by 2016. This week, Credit Suisse analyst Julian Mitchell expressed similar bullish sentiments about the 3D printing market.

“Most corporate guidance defaults to the assumptions of industry consultants who estimate the 3D printing market will grow at ~20% annually,” Mitchell wrote in a recent industry note published on Business Insider.

“We challenge this assumption and attempt to quantify the addressable market by investigating the opportunities within key verticals such as aerospace, automotive, healthcare and consumer. We conclude that these four markets alone (which comprise ~ 50% of the AM market today) represent sufficient opportunity to sustain 20-30% annual revenue growth, bolstered by the technology’s transition from prototyping to end use parts and expansion into metals.”

According to Credit Suisse team, the most rapid expansion of 3D printing will be seen in the consumer market.

“[This] is the fastest-growing portion of the 3D printing market, with expectations for 100%+ YoY growth in 2013. [The Atmel-powered] Makerbot describes its offering as intended for the ‘pro-sumer’ market (manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $2,200-2,800), expecting many systems to be dual professional / personal use among small business owners or serious hobbyists,” Mitchell added.

As previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the DIY Maker Movement has used Atmel-powered 3D printers like MakerBot and RepRap for some time now. However, 3D printing recently entered a new and important stage in a number of spaces including the medical sphere, architectural arena, science lab and even on the battlefield.